First SW tank, 55 Gallon wtih 29 gallon sump

As in a past thread I posted, my wonderful fiance bought me a 55g tank and equipment to set up a saltwater tank.

So far I have a 55g tank, and just bought a 29g tank to make into a sump. She got me a Fluval G6, a Coralife Super Skimmer 125, a power head, some heaters and some other misc stuff.

Today I got my 4x96 watt PC retro kit I won off ebay, its used and I need to shine up the reflectors but got a hell of a deal and they will work cause I want to make a custom hood.

I will also be making a custom stand, since the one that came with my 55g freshwater stand just doesnt feel sturdy and wont have room for the sump.

She got all of this stuff at WAY discounted rates from a store going out of business (ex she got the G6 for $280 when it had a sticker of $590 on it! Told her she should have gotten more and sold them on ebay but when she went back they were gone!)

Now for my problem, I opened the G6 tonight and directions say it needs to be below the water line at least 20". is there anything wrong with me using the G6 to take water from the main tank and pump into my sump/refug then use a pump inside the sump to pump water back into the main? Should I still use an overflow? Any other options for this setup?

My thought is to have the G6 pull water out of the main into the sump, the G6 will run the prefilter, the carbon and biological media, in the sump I plan to run the protein skimmer in the intake area, then into a refuge with some cheato (sp?) live sand and live rock, then into a bubble trap and finally into the return pump area back up to the main.

The G6 is rated at 265GPH, is this enough?

Heres some pics










Next on this list is my RO unit, and some bulbs. Right now I have only 1 power head rated at like 1300GPH. Is this enough or should I look at getting another power head for better control over the flow? For bulbs I am going to use 2 bulbs at 10k and the other 2 will actinic bulbs, set up on individual timers, may also look at a moon light setup.

I am working out the dimensions of the stand and hood and will take pics as that comes together. I am debating on a wood hood or possibly a plastic DIY hood.

Will also be doing the DIY rocks.

OHHH there is so much to do, after opening the skimmer and G6 tonight I wanted to put the thing together but then reality hit and said no no you have to take time and do it right!

Let me know what you think guys.

 

Most people would opt for an overflow rather than pumping water out of the tank... the whole purpose of an overflow is a large portion of the proteins in the water will sit at the surface.. an overflow allows you to constantly be removing the top layer... plus imagine if the return pump fails. You'd empty out your display tank, flood your sump and then you'd have a very very wet carpet.

Also generally power compacts are considered on the low end of lighting for a reef rank... if you plan on keeping any animals with a high requirement for light (anemones or sps coral) you may run into problems.

Besides that lookin' good! Keep us updated with pictures! I'm looking forward to seeing how you do diy rocks?

 

Some progress.

I got a 29 gallon tank to use as a sump. Here are three pics, one of my sump design, one of the sump before and one after putting in the first panel for the sump






I am making my own overflow referencing these sites

Overflow

DIY Overflow Box

Heres a pic of the progress, I have the acrylic cut and bent for the main body and have it sealed to one of the side panels



I decided to paint the back of the tank a dark blue to hide cords and plumbing.







Have to finish the sump and overflow.

I have a maxi jet 900 on the way, to go along with the other power head, plus I can hook the overflow up to the maxi jet to maintain the siphon and restart it if the power goes out.

My bulkheads for the overflow are on the way, I got a 1" and a 3/4", thinking im going to go with the 3/4" as the main drain, then make a backup drain in the box with the 1".

Still working on the return pump, a local store has a mag 9.5 for $50 that im gonna try and get but its a 2 hour drive.

Still hammering out the design of the stand and hood im gonna build and have to wait for cash for materials.

I got a 4 stage RO/DI unit that im still trying to figure out where im gonna hook up.

Still have to make my rocks, working on what I want, was thinking about doing some kind of wall in the center.

Still have to get sand and some Live rock but that wont be till im ready to go.

 

FYI not all of that pvc pipe in the picture of the sump and acrylic sheet is for the tank, im also installing sprinklers in my back yard